Looking for a nice day trip, I decided to head down to Knotts Island and paddle over to Carova Beach. Starting at the Brumley Road boat ramp, I headed up the shoreline for about a half a mile and then turned directly into the wind and began the crossing. I set my sights on the nearest duck blind and began plodding along at about 2.5 miles per hour. Three duck blinds and hour of paddling late, I arrived at the west side of Carova Beach. I wanted to find a place to go ashore and do a little walking around Carova, so I paddled up the southern-most canal (paralleling Swan Road) hoping it may have a better chance of having some open areas suitable for landing.

My search for a landing site was temporarily interrupted as I was attacked by a huge flying fish. OK, so it wasn’t huge. It was a 5 inch Spot that decided to jump in the kayak and begin flopping around behind me. Since I couldn’t see it, I had no idea what was making all that racket. I managed to get ashore and get the little fellow back where he belonged – out of my boat. As for other wildlife, I did see about a dozen Corolla Ponies as I was paddling. Most were grazing beside the houses along the canal.

As I had hoped, the canal ended at a vacant lot and a fairly large sandbar so I pulled the boat ashore, grabbed my CamelBak, and hiked about 3/4 mile northeast to check out the beach. Carova is definitely a unique coastal experience. Sort of like beach camping – but with a nice house instead of a tent.

Heading back to Knotts Island, I took a more easterly and direct route trying to stay in slightly deeper water. Paddling in a foot of water thick with kelp is not a lot of fun. Next time I’m in this area I’d like to check out the islands and marsh to the north – assuming a bit less wind and higher water level.

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